


batb/bambi

by Fallowsthorn



Series: Chatfic & Other Miscellaneous Errata [3]
Category: Bambi (1942), Bambi 2 (2006), Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, F/M, Gen, Plot outline, apologies to the wranglers this is damn obscure, chatfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 20:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16394174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallowsthorn/pseuds/Fallowsthorn
Summary: You know how Gaston is supposed to be the hunter that kills Bambi's mom? Belle fucks off into the woods that winter instead of staying with the Beast.OR, the weird crossover that no one asked for but you're going to get anyway. Several years old, unedited except to replace the names, and probably not that great but still interesting as a concept. Note that this is just an outline, not a real proper fic.





	batb/bambi

**Author's Note:**

> Unfortunately I lost the chat log before this point, but the basic idea was that Belle spends about two weeks in the castle and goes, "Fuck this shit I'm out," and instead of being attacked by wolves she gets hopelessly lost in the woods.
> 
> You may want to either watch the second Bambi movie, which was surprisingly good for a 1) Disney 2) direct-to-video 3) sequel 4) for a movie made during WWII, or read the plot summary on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambi_II

E: gdi now I wanna do all the art tho  
R: DO IT  
R: *whispers* do art for this fic so i have to write it  
E: sa;lerisk I cannot draw deer tho xDDDDD  
R: well then never mind  
E: I'm sorry man if I hit a stride I will try to do a doodle for you :U  
R: no don't apologize i was half-joking anyways  
R: you have like a life and a job and stuff you do what you want with your time  
E: srsly tho if I hit a stride and am like "oh whoa look at that deer I just drew jfc" I will toss it at you  
E: a;sleka;slrkajrsl *lays on both of you* thank you friends  
A: Yes, thaaaank  
R: yaaaaay and thank you for coming and watching a painful movie about adorable deer and a stoic dumbass voiced by patrick stewart  
R: in what i'm sure is the highlight of his film career  
A: Claudius from Hamlet? Nahhh, man, Bambi's Dad, that's the top  
R: he never gets a name  
R: he's just the Great Prince of the Forest  
E: He is the stag formally known as Prince  
R: loooool  
R: mm, i probably won't name him for the fic, but... i could see him with a name like... Nalus, or Orion (however ironically)  
R: Oreo  
R: yes A+ name  
A: xDDDDDD  
E: AHAHAHAHHAHA  
E: IT'S BECAUSE HE NEVER TOLD ANYONE HIS ACTUAL NAME THAT NO ONE CALLS HIM ANYTHING BUT THE PRINCE  
R: WHAT IF IT'S SUPER EMBARRASSING  
R: CLYDE  
E: harold  
A: HAHHAHAA  
R: GEORGE  
R: fred  
R: joann  
R: nancy  
R: I AM NANCY, PRINCE OF THE FOREST  
R: imagine that in patrick stewart's voice please  
E: honestly imagining all of these names in patrick stewart's voice is giving me chest pains  
R: fight me helen  
E: HAHA  
R: i gtg there is food but i will be back shortly  
E: oki doki man - no rush yo you eat your food <33  
A: Farewell! :0  
R: i can continue the saga of Belle Gets Her Ass Lost in the Woods and Almost Handed to Her by a Deer if you want  
E: 8U I would listen to that  
A: Whoo!  
R: OK SO  
R: belle's still wandering around the forest lost af  
R: bambi's split up with faline just after they watch the groundhog declare it's spring, and is wandering on his own  
R: belle hears him talking to himself, and comes closer, calling out to what she assumes is a hunter or someone like that  
R: she finds bambi, who, while he's been told to fear Man, has absolutely no idea what Man looks like, and thinks belle is a marvelous new friend  
R: belle's internally going, "wtf a talking deer" but is going along with it because, well, what else is she gonna do?  
E: and I imagine after getting over the shock of the beast she doesn't consider it all too strange anymore  
R: yeah tbh she's like "well a talking beast, talking furniture, talking deer, what else is new"  
E: like that one radically weird thing happens in your life and everything else hits and you just kinda go "... *shrugs*"  
E: YEAH AND THE TALKING FURNITURE  
R: hang on a minute  
R: around nightfall the Prince shows up to find his son chatting happily with a Man. he's panicked, and covers it by being angry and stern and aggressive  
R: there is a Tense Scene where Bambi advocates for Belle's safety and the Prince remains unimpressed until Belle says something or other, at which point he's like, "it's one of Man's tricks!" but way less convincingly than before  
R: they eventually work out that the time she spent in the castle was long enough for the magic that animated the furniture/servants to "rub off" on her, allowing her to understand and be understood by the forest denizens as well  
E: ahhhhhhhh  
R: the Prince is like, "that's nice go away" and Bambi begs him to let her stay at least for one night, she can't find her way back in the dark, etc, etc, until the Prince straight up gets sick of it and agrees so that Bambi will shut up  
R: soooooo you can see where this is going  
E: and it's actually really cute and I'm dying a little  
R: Belle hangs out with Bambi and co. for about a week, and tries to be a gracious and polite guest when she sees the Prince. at this point he's softening towards both her and Bambi, blah blah character development things are kind of quiet  
R: Belle starts wandering around with the Prince because, well, she's not exactly Bambi's peer, and usually the Prince moves slowly enough that she can keep up  
A: You go ahead and keep going- Imma go shower and stuffs :0  
R: her dress is getting pretty filthy, though, and while she took a few rations like jerky, hard cheese, etc, from the castle she's got basically nothing left. the cloak is all right, more or less, because this is medieval europe so that shit is made to keep you warm and last forever, but it's still too cold to survive with just that, and anyway Belle doesn't think too highly of running around in the forest naked  
R: humans also need protein, and while deer can and do eat beans and the like, there aren't enough vegetable sources of protein to keep her healthy  
R: she keeps quiet to Bambi about this, because she doesn't want to remind him that, well, humans eat venison, but she does talk to the Prince, who is fond enough of her by now (though he won't admit it) to consider how to fix the problem  
R: he also gets Owl to quietly spread the word around to the carnivores and adult herbivores that, in short, he has a feeble omnivore in his care who cannot hunt and needs to eat  
R: it takes a few days, but eventually a crow comes to bring news of a dying deer to the northwest. "we're waiting until he's gone," it says, "but you'd better claim him quick."  
E: well this got dark  
E: but damn is it detailed  
R: belle has read several hunting and forestry books, largely to prove a point to gaston, but only knows most of it in theory. doesn't matter now; the Prince takes her northwest (carrying her on his back to move faster, also because i love this trope), and Bambi tags along because they couldn't convince him that he really didn't want to see this  
R: and this is where my lack of research shows, because i don't really know what she's doing beyond basics  
E: ;alsierslkarse;lssl  
R: anyway, assume that she roughly knows the steps of gutting, skinning, and cleaning a deer, which organs are which, how to make leather, and how to preserve meat. since it's a buck and the knife she stole from the castle kitchens is now functionally a dull metal stick, she takes his antlers, too, thinking to sharpen one side  
R: much of this is guided or assisted by the Prince, who has definitely seen worse things and is stronger than Belle by far  
R: just after the deer dies, they send Bambi to find a broad, flat piece of bark "as big as he is" - he returns just in time to see her pulling the guts out of the deer's belly, is quietly and thoroughly sick, and vanishes for the remainder  
E: oh god  
R: when all is said and done, and the only thing left to do is wait for various processes to finish, she goes down to the river to wash her hands, the knife, and the antlers and bone shards she picked to make blades out of  
R: Bambi's there, and keeps a wide berth and a shy, wary eye on her  
R: she's aware of him, but doesn't want to spook him, and waits until he says something  
R: that being, "are you gonna do that to us when we die?"  
E: oh god DDDD>  
R: and she sets the knives aside and says no, of course not, the buck knew he was dying and told us it was okay, i would never ever hurt you, and as he comes closer she gives him a hug and pets his head  
R: he's crying, but it's more born of shaky relief and an inability to process what happened that Belle knows will fade with time  
R: "is that what happened to mother?"  
E: oh g o d  
R: Belle is thinking, well, probably yes, but she's not a fucking monster so she just says, "I don't know" and leaves it at that  
R: anyway, they can't really haul it all back to the den, at least not until the meat is cooked and the leather is soft again, so they stay there for the night, in a thicket by the river, and the next day belle takes the leather and uses it to make herself a sort of tunic thing and loose pants, and for the first time in her life regrets skipping out on embroidery lessons  
R: (my justification for all this is: if a 10-year-old could do it in My Side of the Mountain, so can Belle)  
E: AHAHAHAHA  
E: Man I bet Belle could do it she prolly knows all about it and it's just a matter of applying the knowledge  
R: yeah - which is harder than it sounds, having filleted a fish myself  
R: she probably by now has a good collection of both scars and muscles, since she's running around up and down cliffs with the Prince  
E: oh damn  
E: I am here for ripped Belle  
R: i might have her hack off her hair, too, at least to her shoulders or something  
R: she's not brushing it, the only washing she's doing is in the river, it must have all kinds of tangles and things stuck in it and get caught on everything  
E: she's got really thick, wavy hair she's definitely got to cut it  
E: it would curl really really cute for a bob ok  
R: yeh  
R: and anyway, what are all these knives for if she doesn't use them  
R: okay where are we...  
R: it's probably about a month since Belle left the castle, which means two months since she left town  
R: not long enough for her father to be out looking for her - i believe in canon she goes in early to mid-autumn and stays through the winter until the Beast gives her the mirror, and it's definitely spring when Gaston attacks the castle  
R: so shift everything down a season and a bit  
R: although it's been a long time since i saw the movie so i might be wrong  
R: her tunic thing has to be sleeveless, she's not nearly good enough to sew on sleeves  
E: xDDD  
E: man you got this thought out tho  
R: also she was using like, strips of bark and random crap on the ground to measure so  
R: it's not super accurate  
R: but whatever, that's what hips are for  
E: pssh as long as it covers her  
R: not sure if i just want to ignore her periods like canon does or have her deal with them somehow  
R: i have no idea how though  
R: she wouldn't stand for blood running down her legs for a week  
R: and she wouldn't want to stain the leather  
E: she ain't havin that shit  
R: but she also lives in the middle of the goddamn woods  
R: so ????  
R: what's a girl to go  
R: *do  
R: thanks, google, for suggesting "menstruation through the ages" as a search term  
E: AHAHA  
R: oh  
E: ??  
R: apparently until about the 20th century, unless you were super high status you just... didn't give a fuck and bled into your clothes or on the ground  
R: well, that solves that problem  
E: welp 8l  
R: and since it's not a problem for belle, i guess i'll just have a short sequence of the Prince being like "I SMELL BLOOD WHERE ARE YOU HURT" and belle going "uh no humans do this stop your nose does not go there"  
E: ahahahahahHAHA  
R: thank you  
R: so they get back to the den, Bambi's back in high spirits again, the cute little herbivores are like "oh wow you have new fur where did that come from?!?" and bambi's like "UHH" and belle's like "a very kind deer gave it to me"  
R: and ronno shows up because ronno is a dick  
R: and he... idk, does something dickish because he's insecure  
E: as always  
R: and belle just takes him aside gently and tells him she's gonna tell him a secret that no one else knows  
R: and whispers in his ear and he fucking stares at her and books it  
R: the others are like "what'd you tell him?"  
R: she goes, "i told him who gave me my new coat" and won't say anything more on the subject  
R: the Prince, however, when she relates the story to him later in the hopes that he'll do something about Ronno, finds it inappropriately hilarious  
E: belle you are fucking brutal  
R: living in the woods will do that to you  
E: I love it tho  
R: :D  
R: hmm, what else  
R: a lot of this middle part is just disjointed anecdotes about Life in the Woods with a Deer to develop the characters and relationships and make it believable that they're growing fonder of each other  
R: with the Prince's usual emotional flailing and Belle's flatly willful ignorance of her own feelings  
R: and then we get Mina  
E: Mina  
R: which goes much the same as in canon  
R: the replacement mom  
E: OH RIGHT  
R: yeah they say her name like once  
E: 8l she obviously left an impression on me  
R: lol  
R: but anyway, the Prince and Bambi convince themselves that Bambi needs a deer mother, because Belle can't teach him the deer things he should know and "a prince should not raise a child" blah blah  
R: not sure if i want belle to do anything about the dogs  
R: because, like, there's not really much room for her to help, and she cannot run as fast as a deer anyway, no matter how fit she is  
R: but on the other hand where do i put her  
R: her defining characteristic is refusing to stay home and be the demure trophy bride  
R: oh!  
R: Mina's still out there  
R: Belle can free her and stick with her while the Prince goes after Bambi  
R: and we'll stay with Belle because Bambi's chase goes as in canon  
E: Ahhhh That's good man yeah!  
R: she talks with Mina a bit and realizes that, for all that she doesn't associate with them, these hunters are as human as her, and she should take the responsibility of making the forest safer for her family  
E: ;alsierks;lk ;-;  
R: (and then surprises herself by the unthinking inclusion of Bambi, the Prince, and to some extent Faline as part of "her family" - but, well, it's a bit late for that now)  
R: so she takes it upon herself to start disarming the traps they leave around, and sabotaging their hunting trips, and learns the whistles they command their dogs with to confuse them  
E: oh damn that's so awesome tho  
R: she doesn't take ownership of the forest, quite, but she makes it clear that it is under her protection  
R: eh, i don't have much more than that  
E: but look at all of this tho  
E: you talk like you didn't have much  
R: i gotta figure out the timeline, whether or not i want to include the beast, and whether or not i want to work in a subplot where belle becomes something of a nature witch  
R: i have like half  
R: and no conclusion, and no real plot arc  
R: so like a fourth  
R: i'll keep thinking about it  
R: for now my brain is tired  
R: i wonder if A went to sleep or if she's still in the shower  
E: man Belle would look fierce in that nature witch aesthetic  
E: It's okay man you don't need to kill your brain over it rn xDD  
A: I've been listeningggg :00  
R: there is a point where belle ends up back in town and gaston has all kinds of fragile masculinity issues and belle is like "you wanna go" b/c in the woods there are zero soft no's and so she learned to ditch that real quick to survive

**Author's Note:**

> I think I also had a vague idea about pairing the Beast and Gaston purely for crack value and to see if I could make it work, but I didn't write any of it down back then. Oh well. If you want to steal this idea, feel free! And link me!


End file.
